Who are safer on the road; the old chaps or the young dudes? A few recent high profile accidents involving older drivers has re-opened the old debate about at what age you should be forced to re-sit your test. However, what about the question of whether older drivers are more dangerous than young dudes in the first place?
Photo credit: woodleywonderworks
A survey was recently carried out by Auto Trader and the results tell us that over 70% of UK drivers are worried about having older drivers on the road. A total of 73% of the almost 4,000 questioned said that the behaviour and safety of older drivers was a concern for them.
The consensus to be found in the survey’s results is that 66 is the age at which drivers should need to take another test and prove that they can still cut the mustard. Over 60% of the people asked said that they should get their sight and coordination checked regularly and over a quarter said that they feel unsafe when someone older than 65 drives them. Young drivers are especially concerned about older drivers.
Who Is Most Likely to Crash?
However, all of the road accident statistics available suggest that, gasp, the young cats are more likely to crash their vehicle than the wily old foxes.
2011 Dept of Transport figures tell us that 9% of the UK driving population is over 70, while they account for only 6% of all casualties on the road. These mature motorists are also apparently less like to drive while using a mobile phone or look for things in their glove box while driving.
Meanwhile, 20% of drivers are under 30 but these people are responsible for 35% of casualties.
Of course, these figures may be skewed by factors such as younger drivers travelling more and over longer distances than the old ones, some of who use their vehicles on a very limited basis.
Do you feel safer seeing an older person drive or a young one?